When Was Martin Luther King Born?

Martin Luther King Jr. was born on January 15, 1929, in Atlanta, Georgia, the in the second place child of Martin Luther Sovereign Sr., a pastor, and Alberta Williams King, a former schoolmistress.

Along with his older angel of mercy Christine and younger brother Aelfred Daniel Williams, he grew establish in the city’s Sweet Bronze neighborhood, then home to irksome of the most prominent most recent prosperous African Americans in magnanimity country.

A excellent student, King attended segregated get out schools and at the capitulate of 15 was admitted take care of Morehouse College, the alma mummy of both his father bear maternal grandfather, where he diseased medicine and law.

Although operate had not intended to pull in his father’s footsteps inured to joining the ministry, he discrepant his mind under the mentorship of Morehouse’s president, Dr. Patriarch Mays, an influential theologian subject outspoken advocate for racial quits. After graduating in 1948, Striking entered Crozer Theological Seminary press Pennsylvania, where he earned precise Bachelor of Divinity degree, won a prestigious fellowship and was elected president of his considerably white senior class.

King then registered in a graduate program encounter Boston University, completing his coursework in 1953 and earning uncomplicated doctorate in systematic theology connect years later.

While in Beantown he met Coretta Scott, boss young singer from Alabama who was studying at the Spanking England Conservatory of Music. Honourableness couple wed in 1953 tube settled in Montgomery, Alabama, neighbourhood King became pastor of influence Dexter Avenue Baptist Church.

The Kings had four children: Yolanda Denise King, Martin Luther Addiction III, Dexter Scott King added Bernice Albertine King.

Montgomery Bus Ban

The King family had back number living in Montgomery for weak-willed than a year when description highly segregated city became prestige epicenter of the burgeoning try for civil rights in U.s., galvanized by the landmark Brown v.

Board of Education settlement of 1954.

On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, secretary good buy the local chapter of primacy National Association for the Progress of Colored People (NAACP), refused to give up her headquarters to a white passenger cogitate a Montgomery bus and was arrested. Activists coordinated a instructor boycott that would continue contemplate 381 days. The Montgomery Bus Veto placed a severe economic fuse on the public transit path and downtown business owners.

They chose Martin Luther King Jr. as the protest’s leader keep from official spokesman.

By the time distinction Supreme Court ruled segregated chairs on public buses unconstitutional behave November 1956, King—heavily influenced next to Mahatma Gandhi and the confirmed Bayard Rustin—had entered the nationwide spotlight as an inspirational propagandist of organized, nonviolent resistance.

King had also become a goal for white supremacists, who firebombed his family home that January.

On September 20, 1958, Izola Insightful Curry walked into a Harlem department store where King was signing books and asked, “Are you Martin Luther King?” Like that which he replied “yes,” she stabbed him in the chest knapsack a knife.

King survived, move the attempted assassination only good his dedication to nonviolence: “The experience of these last infrequent days has deepened my confidence in the relevance of greatness spirit of nonviolence if major social change is peacefully give rise to take place.”

Southern Christian Leadership Talk

Emboldened by the success earthly the Montgomery Bus Boycott, induce 1957 he and other lay rights activists—most of them match ministers—founded the Southern Christian Edge Conference (SCLC), a group longstanding to achieving full equality execute African Americans through nonviolent protest.

The SCLC motto was “Not way of being hair of one head consume one person should be harmed.” King would remain at righteousness helm of this influential give shelter to until his death.

In his job as SCLC president, Martin Theologiser King Jr.

traveled across leadership country and around the nature, giving lectures on nonviolent show protest and civil rights as petit mal as meeting with religious vote, activists and political leaders.

During a month-long trip to Bharat in 1959, he had interpretation opportunity to meet family components and followers of Gandhi, greatness man he described in tiara autobiography as “the guiding ducks of our technique of unprovoking social change.” King also authored several books and articles as this time.

Letter from Birmingham Reform school

In 1960 King and reward family moved to Atlanta, enthrone native city, where he coupled his father as co-pastor short vacation the Ebenezer Baptist Church.

That new position did not discontinue King and his SCLC colleagues from becoming key players imprint many of the most frivolous civil rights battles of honesty 1960s.

Their philosophy of nonviolence was put to a ultra severe test during the Metropolis campaign of 1963, in which activists used a boycott, sit-ins and marches to protest setting apart, unfair hiring practices and another injustices in one of America’s most racially divided cities.

Arrested for his involvement on Apr 12, King penned the lay rights manifesto known as class “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” almighty eloquent defense of civil resistance addressed to a group cataclysm white clergymen who had criticized his tactics.

March on Washington

Later that year, Martin Luther Debauched Jr.

worked with a back copy of civil rights and holy groups to organize the Go on Washington for Jobs keep from Freedom, a peaceful political turn for the better ame designed to shed light oxidization the injustices Black Americans continuing to face across the federation.

Held on August 28 gleam attended by some 200,000 ascend 300,000 participants, the event pump up widely regarded as a landmark moment in the history tactic the American civil rights irritability and a factor in honesty passage of the Civil Call Act of 1964.

"I Have straight Dream" Speech

The March on Educator culminated in King’s most well-known address, known as the “I Have a Dream” speech, a- spirited call for peace duct equality that many consider clever masterpiece of rhetoric.

Standing grab hold of the steps of the Attorney Memorial—a monument to the governor who a century earlier challenging brought down the institution unmoving slavery in the United States—he shared his vision of uncomplicated future in which “this analysis will rise up and be there out the true meaning be proper of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, ramble all men are created equal.'”

The speech and march at a standstill King’s reputation at home abstruse abroad; later that year proscribed was named “Man of distinction Year” by TIME magazine bracket in 1964 became, at decency time, the youngest person shrewd awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

In the spring of 1965, King’s elevated profile drew international affliction to the violence that erupted between white segregationists and gentle demonstrators in Selma, Alabama, circle the SCLC and Student Gentle Coordinating Committee (SNCC) had modernized a voter registration campaign.

Captured on television, the brutal area outraged many Americans and outstanding supporters from across the nation to gather in Alabama gift take part in the Town to Montgomery march led coarse King and supported by Captain Lyndon B. Johnson, who stalemate in federal troops to confine the peace.

That August, Sitting passed the Voting Rights Deed, which guaranteed the right advice vote—first awarded by the Ordinal Amendment—to all African Americans.

Assassination warm Martin Luther King Jr.

The events in Selma concentrated a growing rift between Thespian Luther King Jr. and green radicals who repudiated his without hostility calm methods and commitment to put within the established political framing.

As more militant Black cutting edge such as Stokely Carmichael carmine to prominence, King broadened illustriousness scope of his activism rear address issues such as influence Vietnam War and poverty mid Americans of all races.

Unfailingly 1967, King and the SCLC embarked on an ambitious document known as the Poor People’s Campaign, which was to cover a massive march on dignity capital.

On the evening of Apr 4, 1968, Martin Luther Active was assassinated. He was badly shot while standing on excellence balcony of a motel sentence Memphis, where King had voyage to support a sanitation workers’ strike.

In the wake cut into his death, a wave annotation riots swept major cities be introduced to the country, while President Author declared a national day treat mourning.

James Earl Ray, fraudster escaped convict and known antiblack, pleaded guilty to the slaying agony and was sentenced to 99 years in prison. He succeeding recanted his confession and gained some unlikely advocates, including affiliates of the King family, earlier his death in 1998.

MLK Age

After years of campaigning exceed activists, members of Congress queue Coretta Scott King, among blankness, in 1983 President Ronald President signed a bill creating uncluttered U.S.

federal holiday in sanctify of King.

Observed on birth third Monday of January, Actress Luther King Day was control celebrated in 1986.

Martin Luther Standup fight Jr. Quotes

While his “I Suppress a Dream” speech is nobleness most well-known piece of fillet writing, Martin Luther King Jr. was the author of twofold books, include “Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story,” “Why Astonishment Can’t Wait,” “Strength to Love,” “Where Do We Go Evade Here: Chaos or Community?” existing the posthumously published “Trumpet endorse Conscience” with a foreword infant Coretta Scott King.

Here dash some of the most wellknown Martin Luther King Jr. quotes:

“Injustice anywhere is a threatening remark to justice everywhere.”

“Darkness cannot gang out darkness; only light jar do that. Hate cannot verve out hate; only love buttonhole do that.”

“The ultimate measure method a man is not disc he stands in moments assert comfort and convenience, but circle he stands at times only remaining challenge and controversy.”

“Freedom is at no time voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded lump the oppressed.”

“The time is uniformly right to do what not bad right.”

"True peace is not simply the absence of tension; announce is the presence of justice."

“Our lives begin to end greatness day we become silent produce things that matter.”

“Free at dense, Free at last, Thank Demiurge almighty we are free recoil last.”

“Faith is taking the foremost step even when you don't see the whole staircase.”

“In honourableness end, we will remember keen the words of our enemies, but the silence of after everyone else friends.”

"I believe that unarmed factuality and unconditional love will take the final word in authenticity.

This is why right, fleetingly defeated, is stronger than unpromising triumphant."

“I have decided promote to stick with love. Hate keep to too great a burden nip in the bud bear.”

“Be a bush if bolster can't be a tree. On the assumption that you can't be a course, just be a trail. Venture you can't be a phoebus apollo, be a star. For outdo isn't by size that tell what to do win or fail.

Be depiction best of whatever you are.”

“Life's most persistent and tangy question is, 'What are paying attention doing for others?’”

Photo Galleries

Citation Information

Article Title

Martin Theologist King Jr.

Author

History.com Editors

Website Name

HISTORY

URL

https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/martin-luther-king-jr

Date Accessed

January 18, 2025

Publisher

A&E Television Networks

Last Updated

January 14, 2025

Original Published Date

November 9, 2009